Sep 1, 2019

Sunday Salon: The Memory Police/ Tahoe Deep/Gun Island

Currently reading:

The Memory Police
by Yoko Ogawa
August 13, 2019, Pantheon 

What would it be like to lose memory of things and not miss them? And what if you do remember the things you lost, but were not allowed to, what then?  

I'm in the middle of this fascinating dystopian-like novel where Memory Police make things disappear and make the memories of them also disappear. The people who resist and do and can remember are also made to disappear. 

A study in memory and what a suppressed memory or lost memories can mean for a group of people as well as for the individual.

In this novel, a young woman hides her book editor, one of those whose memory of things that have disappeared make him a target for the Memory Police, who make sure no one stays who remembers what have been taken from them.

See my goodreads review.

Finished reading:

Tahoe Deep (An Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller Book 17)
Tahoe Deep

Tahoe Deep by Todd Borg, August 1, 2019, Thriller Press

Genre: mystery, thriller set around Lake Tahoe
Source: review copy from publisher/author

Review: I have been following Todd Borg's Owen McKenna Mystery series for quite a while and enjoy reading his thrillers set in this lovely mountain, lake, and ski resort area in California and Nevada.

When a 90-year-old man is found beaten in his home and a body washes up on the beaches of Lake Tahoe, PI Owen McKenna is called on to investigate. His sidekick Spot, a giant Great Dane, is always there to help, as is his girlfriend and entymologist Street. The mystery involves the scuttling years before of the SS Tahoe Steamer, which lies under the lake's deep and cold waters.

A boy saw people board the steamer before it was sunk, and this becomes dangerous for him, even though this boy is now a 90-year-old man.

McKenna takes us on an investigative ride with thrills, suspense, and danger, especially involving diving or free diving (diving without equipment) in Lake Tahoe. 

The author has made Lake Tahoe and its surroundings the setting for his series, and it is still a magnificent and unusual place, lending its aura and uniqueness to the mystery novel. Highly recommended.

Other reading:

I am in the middle of another fascinating book, a literary novel about a young traveler in a new place, who must find out who she really is and where she really belongs. 

The Dragonfly Sea by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, March 12, 2019, Knopf Publishing Group


I'm also reading Swedish crime writer Viveca Sten's Guiltless,  Sandhamn mystery #3,  and plan to finish the entire series of 9 books. A new one, the 10th,  comes out later this year. 

E-Books borrowed:

Gun Island
Gun Island  by Amitev Ghosh
September 10, 2019, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

The novel is described as a "globetrotting, folkloric adventure novel" involving family and heritage.  A young man leaves India and takes a trip of discovery from India to Los Angeles and then Venice. Seems like the book for me!

What are you reading this week?
Memes: 
The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and the Sunday Salon,  Mailbox Monday.

14 comments:

  1. All these books are new to me, they soumd quite different from what I read but the few times I've read out of my genre box I've loved the book.

    I hope you have a great week!

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  2. I'm especially taken with The Memory Police and The Dragonfly Sea. Neither of these is at my library yet, but maybe they will be on order in the next few weeks. I will let the powers that be know.

    I've just (finally!) finished Moby Dick, and I feel completely free for the first time in a month. I'm reading a book set here in Utah, Desert Solitaire, but I'm not sure what I shall read when I get home.

    I hope you have a wonderful week!

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  3. The Gun Island cover is very cool! I hope you enjoy!

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  4. I am curious about The Memory Police. Enjoy your new week, and thanks for sharing.

    Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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  5. I love the look of Tahoe Deep!

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  6. The Memory Police and Gun Island both sound good. http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comments_09/what_are_you_reading_0902.html

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  7. I’m a bit confused by The Memory Police, I hope you enjoy it though.

    Have a great reading week

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  8. Shellyrae, The Memory Police makes me think of fascism, mind control, even ALS, anything that will rob us, intentionally or not, of our full faculties. I'm in the middle of the book and hope the characters manage to get out of the situation!

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  9. I'm on a thriller binge. Your books look more diverse than I normally read. I enjoy the diversity but find it takes more energy to think about them, if that makes sense. Some books I read just to be entertained, let the emotions flow and view different perspectives.

    Have a lovely week with some good reads!

    Anne - Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post   

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  10. These are all new to me and sound intriguing. I hope you enjoy them all. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  11. I didn't know Amitav Ghosh had a new book out. Is it as big and fat as his other novels seem to be?

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  12. LOVE Todd's books too.

    I won't get to this one for another month, but it sounds very good.

    ENJOY your books and your week.

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  13. Tahoe Deep sounds like one I would like.
    Happy Reading!

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I appreciate your comments and thoughts...

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